In the nearby countryside, the Farmhouse you can admire the beautiful mosaics (Heritage) of an ancient Villa dating back to the Roman Empire (III-IV century AD).
The Villa Romana del Casale, since 1997, is a UNESCO World Heritage Site inalienable
because it is completely not only an extraordinary and important testimony of Roman life in the last part of the empire but also the complex system of economic, social and cultural rights which was inserted, with particular reference to the Mediterranean basin.
Through its mosaics you can trace the history of the greatest of empires, a sort of photo album that displays not only the scenes of everyday life, but also depictions of gods and heroes, hunting scenes, cherubs and children engaged in competitive in the circuses and other performances that leave many visitors amazed by the beauty of what is before his eyes. The villa, which stands on an area of over 3,500 square feet, was probably the hunting residence of Emperor Maximilian, said Victor Herculeos, or an important Roman noble, perhaps Valerius Proculus Populonius.
It grows in forty-eight rooms, many of which you can admire the beautiful mosaics almost certainly from which North African workers were using this technique. The structure was built between the late third and early fourth century. The first excavations were undertaken by a scientific town of Piazza Armerina in 1881, abandoned soon after they were later taken between 1935 and 1939, but it was only in 1954 that the House began to be excavated to work of the great archaeologist Gino Vinicio Gentili, who with a campaign of excavations lasted nine years, gave the world one of the most amazing and priceless gems of art history. Inhabited in old Arabic, the villa was partly destroyed by the Normans, then an avalanche of mud, from Mount Mangone above it, covered it almost completely. The morphology of the land has conditioned and determined the development plan of the structure, giving the same organization that is spread over three levels following the slope of the hill on which stands, determining which of the extraordinary architectural features.
The Villa Armerina is divided into several parts, the residential area built around a large central peristyle of which also overlooks the basilica, which was reserved to official receptions, an area representative with the elliptical peristyle (Xistus) and the large dining trefoil (Triclinium), the complex of baths with the aqueduct that supplied to its supply. The polygonal courtyard which is the entrance to the villa also serves as a hinge between the areas in which it is divided. All the pictures, made with the mosaic technique, deserve to be admired, the most famous among these are nell'Ambulacro the Great Hunt, the capture and transport of animals for the circus games, in the vestibule, the struggle between Eros and Pan and the representation of Ulysses and Polyphemus; triclinic in the labors of Hercules. But surely the most famous portrayal is that of girls in bikini in a room is allocated to the south of the peristyle. The Villa is easily reached via the motorway Palermo - Catania exit at the Enna or reel and continuing for the city of Piazza Armerina, you can also use the rail on the Palermo - Catania.
